Kindness is one of the primary traits a parent instills in their child; it is a fundamental element of human nature. Think back on the past week: did anyone grant you an ounce of spare kindness? If so, think about how it brightened your day, even for a moment. If not, think back to a moment where you could have really used a kind service. There are times we take these moments for granted because we can’t always help ignoring small, fleeting moments of gratitude. Practicing how to recognize and enact kindness can be one of the most powerful habits we can develop. Usually, we are prompted to participate in extending kindness when we ourselves have just experienced these moment, but in devoting more time to being kind, you not only can benefit someone else’s life but your own as well.
When you begin looking outside yourself with more positivity in mind, such as doing something kind for someone else, you might feel better about the state of world. Kindness can restore your faith that the world can be gentle and joyful, and you can actively participate in this. We recognize the warmth we feel when someone is kind to us and we gain some of that warmth for ourselves as well, so why don’t we actively partake in kindness all the time?
For some people, kindness comes easily. For others, we might be unlearning habits taught to us. We live in a world that is full of cruelties, so if kindness is not always your initial reaction, you are not inherently bad. With access to technology, we are constantly aware of how disappointing the world can be. To counteract this, being able to practice kindness—even in small doses—can add needed light into the world. For all the times you are not instinctually kind, you can be consciously (and genuinely) kind.
Positive moments of day-to-day life fuels gratitude, ambition, and promise to make the world a better place. We search for these moments in all the major events we go through: we hope to be congratulated for our life-changing accomplishments as much as we hope someone grants us a sincere compliment every once in a while. Hope is in direct correlation to the kindness represented in the world. Whenever you feel hope, you should reciprocate that into the world with kindness.
You may not have spare kindness to give every single day. That is inherently human. But on those days, do you wish someone would have spare kindness to give to you? There will inevitably be moments where you don’t act how you should or how you wish you would. Rather than beating yourself up, remind yourself once again to be in tune with your conscious kindness. You might disappoint yourself from time to time, but use these setbacks as an opportunity to become better. Do your best to bring some light back into the world.
We are not humans if we are not evolving. Rather than evolving with the wickedness at our fingertips, evolve with the good. Change into a version of yourself that is forgiving, compassionate, more human. There is strength in these qualities. Kindness is not weak—in its truest form, kindness is about strength, from the strength to enlighten another to aid in a task big or small. We often overlook how difficult kindness can be. Live with integrity can enlighten the strength we need to be kind.
There are small kindnesses: compliments to a stranger, holding the elevator or door for someone else, smiling at the stranger who you awkwardly made eye contact with. There are big moments: standing up for someone, being a shoulder to cry on, even warning someone before a bike speeds into them.
These acts are not always easy, but they are worth it. And if these joys are not enough incentive, know that kindness comes back around. It is not always instant, but the light you put into the world is bound to find you. Casting away a small shadow means one less you must face. The most powerful people are those who aren’t afraid to bring someone up because they know it does not diminish them in any way.
So, on the days you have extra joy to give out, make sure to do so. When you are needing more light in the world, bring it in yourself. To be kind is to be strong. You never know who else might need a kind moment.
<p>The post Kindness: An Everyday Art first appeared on Her Campus.</p>
